Photo Credit: Facebook/Northern Heat Rib Series
The Northern Heat Rib Series returns to Hamilton this weekend with the Binbrook Rib and Beer Fest at the Binbrook Fairgrounds.
The ribfest begins on Friday, May 17 at 4pm and will end at 7pm on Monday, May 20.
The Binbrook event runs for four days due to the Victoria Day long weekend.
Each ribfest has up to five rib trucks per show and offers live music.
The 2024 rib vendors include Kentucky Smokehouse, Louisiana Bar-b-que, Bubba Lou’s Bar-B-Q, Texas Jack’s BBQ Pit, Big Hank’s BBQ Shack, Memphis Blazin’ BBQ, and Bibb’s Texas BBQ.
It should be noted that the selection will vary as not every vendor will be at every ribfest.
The beer market at the ribfests will offer “an ice cold selection of Cowbell draught,” with “a variety of wine, whisky and vodka cocktails, plus an assortment of ready to drink coolers.”
While admission is $2 per person, parking is free and children 12 years and under are free.
The ribfest hours are 4pm to 11pm on Friday, 12pm to 11pm on Saturday, 12pm to 11pm on Sunday and 12pm to 7pm on Monday. Gates close one hour prior to closing time.
The event will also have a Kid’s Zone.
Pets are welcome at the event but must be leashed and cleaned up after.
Those wishing to bring pets must also fill out a waiver which can be found online.
The music lineup for the festival features country on Friday, rock on Saturday, and a mash up of different bands on Sunday and Monday.
The Friday country lineup features The Electric Merchants, Madison Galloway, and Dropped Tailgate.
Saturday’s “Rock in the Park” will feature Jack Sith, The Trip: Tribute to the Tragically Hip, The AC/DC Show Canada, and Wicked Truth.
Sunday’s mash up features Big Dan and the Topside Band, Monty and the Cew, Stoned and Rolling: Tribute to the Rolling Stones, and Otis Wonder & The Hustle.
And Monday’s mash up features Little Peter and the Elegants, Chris Chambers Band, and Pulse X.
Friday is coupon night, with a downloadable coupon for two free sides ($6 value) available online on the event website.
At the festival, those who vote for their favourite ribs and sauce will be entered into a draw for a $100 gift card.
The Northern Heat Rib Series is a locally operated festival group that originated in 2016 and runs events across Ontario.
The Binbrook Ribfest is one of 15 Northern Heat Rib Series festivals across Ontario.
Three ribfests take place in Hamilton, with the other two planned for Friday, June 28 to Monday, July 1 at Stoney Creek’s Eastgate Square Mall and Friday, July 19 to Monday, July 21 at Hamilton Mountain’s Lime Ridge Mall.
The rib series is sponsored by Cowbell Brewing Co., Pelee Island Winery, Tito’s Handmade Vodka, Gibson’s Finest Canadian Whisky, Blackfly Spirit Beverages, and Pepsi.
Other locations outside of Hamilton that will host ribfests this spring and summer are Windsor, Newmarket, Orillia, Toronto Beaches, Brampton, Georgetown, Downtown Toronto, Milton, Thornhill, Midland, Waterloo, and Lindsay.
More details for those events can be found at www.northernheatribseries.ca.
Based in Hamilton, he reaches hundreds of thousands of people monthly on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter. He has been published in The Hamilton Spectator, Stoney Creek News, and Bay Observer. He has also been a segment host with Cable 14 Hamilton. In 2017, he received the Chancellor Full Tuition Scholarship from the University of Ottawa (BA, 2022). He has also received the Governor General’s Academic Medal. He formerly worked in a non-partisan role on Parliament Hill in Ottawa.
